Last Christmas
by Storm Caleum
Summary: He made a promise before he left. "I promise to be back before Christmas." But it has been three years and no sign of him. All she wanted for Christmas was for him to keep his promise; to be back before Christmas.


**Last Christmas**

**This is dedicated to all those who have lost someone close to their hearts around the holidays.**

"White! Come on!" Two voices shouted in unison. Both were clearly female.

Four people were waiting at the door for the one known as White to respond. Two females and two males.

"Go on ahead, I'll catch up." White said as she sat on her bed watching the snow fall. It was like little balls of cotton were dancing in the wind before landing gracefully on the ground.

White was an average girl. She was nineteen with a wild mane of brown hair and ice blue eyes. Her hair was always tied up in a simple ponytail with a pink and white hat resting atop her head. The center of the hat had a pink pokeball design.

"Are you sure?" Her childhood friend Cheren asked with a concerned voice. It wasn't like White to miss out on the annual Winter festival or even be late for it. His train of thought ended when his girlfriend, Bianca who was also his and White's childhood playmate started walking to the stairs only for her to trip.

The brunette quickly rushed to her and caught her by the waist. Bianca was a really clumsy person but he loved her all the same. "Please try and be more careful." Cheren lightly scolded as Bianca giggled and pecked him on the cheek. Her blonde hair tapped his nose as she pulled away. "Ok, I'll try."

"Come on guys! No PDA here!" The other male groaned and face palmed.

"Like you don't display affection in public with Rosa, Hugh." Cheren grumbled and looked at the two who had a faint dusting of red on their cheeks.

"That is not true!" The other couple shouted in unison as their wild hairstyles moved in sync. Hugh had spiky black hair that resembled the top half of a Qwilfish while Rosa had two buns on either side of her head with a long strand of hair coming out from each bun, reaching her ankles. These two were also dating.

"Guys, if you keep arguing you'll miss the festival." White chuckled softly at her friends and sister's argument. At times, they were really entertaining and fun to listen to.

"… OH CRAP!" The group shouted in unison before rushing to the door. For some reason, everyone was saying stuff in unison. Odd.

"Bye sis! Come to the festival soon!" Rosa shouted and closed the door before snow could make its way into their house.

As soon as they left, White let out a sigh of relief. She used to love the Winter festival until three years ago. That was the year when N showed up in her life. At first, she thought of him as a lunatic who just wanted to release everyone's pokemon but the more they battled, the more she learned about him and his ideals. It made her contemplate on the entire idea of enslaving pokemon for battle but, her own ideals overcame his and she kept her pokemon. In N's eyes, it might have been a selfish thing to do but she just couldn't release them. She loved them too much.

White had a lot of adventures with N. At one time, they even traveled together. That was when the two started harbouring feelings to each other. But, all of this was before N told her that he was the leader of team Plasma; the team White had been so desperately trying to stop.

From that point on, they were enemies. They would always battle every time they met and when N lost, he'd always say a few meaningful words before departing. White had always taken those words to heart and each time they battled, the stronger her feelings would grow for him and vice versa.

It wasn't until the final battle at the N's castle when she realised that she had liked-no, loved N. At that point, it was too late. After she beat him with Reshiram at her side, he was left to contemplate his entire life. This sent N into a frenzy of emotions and he departed on Zekrom's back but not before giving White a kiss and a promise to come back before Christmas. That was the last time White saw him.

It has been almost three years since he made that promise and White still was waiting for him. Some may call it odd or crazy but she still believed he would come back. In a sense, it was a sad children story. Boy meets girl, they fall in love, boy confesses he is working for the opposite side and the lovers become enemies but still have feelings for each other. At the end, when the hero triumphs, the loser is left to contemplate their life on a long journey and finally, one last kiss.

White's eyes began to water and she wiped them with her sleeve before the tears could fall. The memory of N was… just that; a memory. As much as she wanted to forget and move on, she couldn't. It was as if something was telling her not to; to wait for him.

The brunette sighed sadly and looked at the clock on her nightstand. She didn't want to go to the festival but it was like a tradition to her. Every year she would go, no matter what. "Well, I guess I better get going." White said to no one in particular and clipped her pokeballs to her belt. She quickly wrapped a large winter coat around herself and slipped into a pair of black combat boots.

White took one last glance around her house, making sure all the lights were off before walking out the door. A gust of icy wind hit her face as soon as she was outside but that's to be expected. It was the middle of winter. She shivered from the cold and reached into her coat, grabbing a pokeball.

"Come out Volcarona!" A beam of red hit the snow and from that beam, Volcarona appeared.

"Vooollll!" The creature chirped happily. Volcarona was a bug/fire type pokemon that closely resembled a moth and butterfly hybrid.

"And hello to you too." White rubbed the pokemon's head while smiling. She had caught this one when it was a Larvesta and raised it into the beautiful Volcarona that hovered before her. "Up for a trip to Nimbasa city?"

The fire pokemon nodded its head happily and allowed White to climb on its back. When Volcarona knew White was safely on his back, he took off into the night sky.

It was only a ten minute flight to Nimbasa thanks to Volcarona. He was one of the fastest flying pokemon she ever rode. His resistance to freezing temperatures was also a bonus. The duo had to land in the forest surrounding the city to avoid spectators. White was the champion of the Unova region and her being at the winter festival would attract unwanted attention. All she wanted to do was to try and enjoy the festivities.

"Good boy." She scratched his fluffy neck and gently kissed his head much like how a loving mother would do before he went back into his pokeball. He was just too flashy to be at the festival right now. Maybe when everyone was gone, he and the rest of his brothers and sisters could be let out to wander and enjoy themselves. But for now, lay low.

White tucked her hair into her pokeball cap before putting her coat hood over it. No one would recognise her like this. She entered the Winter festival without any trouble and gazed around. Many stalls were selling hot chocolate, lava cookies, varieties of berry sorbet, Casteliacones, and much more.

It was beginning to get a bit chilly without her Volcarona around so White opted for a hot chocolate. Just as she took a few steps forward, her ears heard a rustle in the bush. Curiosity got the best of her and she parted the branches and leaves to see what made the rustle.

A small ice cream shaped pokemon stood there sadly. Its face casted downwards to look at the snow covered ground. "Vanillll…" It was a vanillite and a sad one at that.

"Hey, are you ok?" White said gently as she kneeled in front of the little ice pokemon. Vanillite's eyes widened and it jumped back while letting out an icy breath attack towards White. It was scared and alone, something White had felt before.

She took the brunt of the attack and kneeled there. "I don't want to hurt you; I just want to see if you are ok." White reached out a gloved hand and put it a few feet from the scared pokemon.

The Vanillite didn't show any signs of friendliness and just backed away. White sighed and retracted her hand with a sad expression on her face but not for long. An idea popped into her head as she stood up. "Wait here." And took off.

The ice cream pokemon stood there with a confused expression on its face. "Vaaaa?"

White soon came back with a two Casteliacones on her hands and offered one to the pokemon who had a look of shock and happiness on its face. The Vanillite hopped forward and gobbled up the icy treat within a few seconds. It looked up at her with its widened blue eyes. The Vanillite seemed to be asking her if it could have the other one.

The champion chuckled and handed the other cone to the Vanillite who ate it more slowly this time. She took a closer look at the ice pokemon as it ate. It seemed to have no scratches or injuries on it and that made her smile. She stood up and started walking away. Her work here was done.

"Vaniiiii" A small voice called to her as she turned around. The Vanillite was following her! It had no intention of leaving anytime soon. "Do you want to come with me?"

"Va!" Vanillite nodded its head up and down rapidly and jumped into the trainer's arms. This gesture made White smile and hug the little guy. It was amazing that a few minutes ago he wouldn't even let her come near him and now, he was snuggling up to her.

"Now, let's get some more food and enjoy the festival." White stated happily as she merrily skipped along the pathway. The Vanillite chirped in agreement.

* * *

"Omph, I'm stuffed." White yawned and hiccupped. Vanillite bobbed its little head in agreement. So far, they have eaten a few dozen Casteliacones, seven cups of hot chocolate, three dozen lava cookies and had each flavour of berry sorbet. Needless to say, they couldn't eat another bite.

"_Last Christmas, I gave you my heart and the very next day, you gave it away."_ White recognised the song as Last Christmas performed by Elesa and Brycen as a duet. That was her favourite song during the holiday season and… it reminded her of N.

The brunette quickly shook the thoughts of N away. After all, she was here to enjoy herself along her new found friend. Her eyes scanned the fair for the source of the music and she spotted it.

The ferris wheel. The same one she and N rode before he told her the news.

The ride looked spectacular though. It had been decorated with flashing lights and garlands and hooked up to a giant stereo system. She smiled as the memories of N before he told her, came rushing into her cranium.

"VAN!" The ice pokemon shouted and started hopping at an incredible pace for an ice pokemon. His destination: The ferris wheel.

"Hey! Wait up!" White called out as she ran after her icy friend.

Vanillite paid no attention to her as it hopped into one of the ferris wheel cars. White also ran into the car and was breathing heavily. "Why- did- you- run- off?" She rested her hands on her knees as she took a few more deep breaths. As she took one last deep breath, the car door shut and the ride started moving.

"Uh oh." White's eyes widened as she was forced to sit or else she would loose her balance and fall. She looked over to her little friend and found him having the time of his life. He was looking through the glass to see the ground getting further and further away.

White smiled at this little gesture and leaned back into the seat. She sighed as she looked out her side of the window. A long time ago, N and her rode this ferris wheel and she'd acted just like how Vanillite was acting; a giddy child.

Her eyes scanned the festival grounds and saw her friends. Hugh and Rosa were stuffing cotton candy in each other's faces while Cheren and Bianca were cuddling on a bench, looking adorable.

White let a sad smile appear on her face as she touched the glass window with her bare hand. It was cold to the touch, just like how she felt at the moment. To be honest, she was jealous of her friends. They had their loved one around the holidays while White was waiting for N to reappear. She just really missed him and being around couples just made it worse.

All she wanted for Christmas was for N to keep his promise to her; to come back before Christmas. Sadly, he hasn't lived up to it. It has been almost three Christmas's and no sign of N.

"It's already been three years…" White hung her head as she stared at her hands. They were clenched into fists and started to shake. Soon, her entire body began to shake as tears started falling out of her blue eyes.

"Vani…" The ice cream pokemon said sadly as it hopped into her lap in an attempt to comfort the crying girl. White wrapped her arms around the pokemon and pulled it closer to her. This little Vanillite felt like her anchor; around when she needs him the most. "T-thank you." She whispered and continued the cry. Her tears were dripping onto Vanillite, making them freeze upon impact.

"_-I'll give it to someone, special..._" The song, Last Christmas came to an end and White sniffled a few sobs as Vanillite tried to comfort her. How she wished N was by her side this Christmas. But no matter how much she wished, she knew N wasn't going to fulfill his promise.

"N… please come back."

**Well, that's the end of my first pokemon Christmas tale. **

**Hope you enjoyed and Happy Holidays :) 3**


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